We're going to begin the practice today in a supported bridge pose.
So have your block near to you and come to lying on the mat with your feet at hip distance apart.
And your knees pointing up towards the ceiling.
Press into your feet to lift your hips.
And slide your block under your lower back You want the block to be supporting your sacrum,
Which is the flat bit of bone at your lower back.
And relax onto the block.
Allow your lower back to completely release into your support here.
And bring your awareness into your body to feel how your body is right now.
Observe any sensations that are present in your body today.
There might be some areas that are tighter.
That are indicating that they're ready for some release.
There might be some other areas that feel more relaxed.
More at ease.
Without thinking about any of it too much.
Just feel into the feelings that are there.
And just observe.
And now bring your awareness to your breath and notice how your breath is flowing today.
Follow the breath as it flows into your body.
In to your long.
Watch the chest expanding.
And follow the breath back out again.
Observe how your breath is flowing.
Is it fast or is it slow?
Is it shallow or deep?
Where is the inhalation flowing to?
Does it go into your chest?
Into your belly Or somewhere else.
Just watch and notice.
And if you're feeling some places in your body that are holding on to some tension.
That are feeling a little more uncomfortable today.
Begin to send the breath into those areas.
Inhale into an area of tension.
And feel that area beginning to release with the exhalation.
Repeat this with as many places as you need to.
Send the breath into the tight or uncomfortable part of your body.
And feel the exhalation assisting with the release.
We'll just take a few more breaths here.
Press into your feet to lift your hips.
And slide the block out from underneath you.
And slowly release back to the mat.
Pay attention to the feeling of each vertebrae in your spine reconnecting with the mat.
The feeling of your sacrum reconnecting with the mat.
And once you've come back down,
Drop the knees together.
And take some breaths here to observe any after effects from that posture.
Next,
We're moving into reclining butterfly.
So from here bring the soles of your feet together so that your knees open out towards the side.
You can support your thighs with blocks or cushions if that feels more comfortable for your legs.
And find where you want your arms to be.
You can rest your hands onto your thighs or keep your arms by your side.
Or you can take your arms up over your head.
Keeping the elbows soft Scan over your body here to see if there are any places that you can relax.
Can you relax the muscles in your thighs?
In your shoulder.
Notice the new sensations that come up for you in this position.
Yin yoga is a passive practice.
But that doesn't mean that it isn't powerful.
Or that the postures don't sometimes feel intense.
And practicing yin yoga can teach us that we don't always need to be pushing and forcing things to happen to experience results.
All we need to do is bring ourselves into the position.
And commit to staying there.
And the natural connection between our bodies and gravity does all the rest of the work.
We can learn to trust and surrender to the natural process of things.
And with regular practice,
The benefits of yin yoga can overflow into our lives.
We can learn to surrender control.
To flow with life and to trust that we are supported.
And that life is carrying us to where we need to go.
Bring your hands to the outsides of your legs.
And push your knees up Bring your feet back to hip distance apart.
And rest the knees together again.
Take a few breaths here to observe.
To feel any effects from that posture.
From here we'll move into a reclining twist.
Bring your arms out in line with your shoulders,
With the palms of your hands facing upwards.
And let your knees drop towards the left.
Let them fall all the way down.
And if it feels best to take some support under the left leg.
You can place a block or a cushion there.
You can keep your head looking up or turn to look over your right shoulder.
Depending on what feels best for your body.
Scan over your body to see what muscles you can relax.
If this position isn't giving you much intensity and you feel like you would like a deeper stretch.
Take your left foot to rest onto your right thigh.
Keep everything relaxed here.
Observe the new sensations that arise in this posture.
We're going to stay here for one more minute.
Bring your left foot back to the mat.
And bring the knees back to the center Bring your head back to the centre.
And drop the knees together here for some breath to observe.
And we'll go to the other side.
So let your knees drop to the right this time.
Taking any support that you need.
Turn the head to look over the left shoulder.
Or keep looking straight up if that feels more comfortable for you.
Usually the two sides of the body feel different.
So observe the new sensations that come up on this side.
And if you would like a deeper stretch,
Take the right foot to rest onto the left thigh.
We'll just stay here for a few more breaths.
And slowly make your way back out.
Take your right foot back to the mat and bring the knees back to the centre.
Bring your head back to the centre.
And drop your knees together for some observational breaths.
And from here,
Roll over to one side and come up to your hands and knees.
Next we're coming into child's pose.
If you have sensitive knees or if you'd like to support your knees a little more,
Take a folded blanket onto the mat to kneel on.
We'll be on the knees for a few minutes,
So make sure that you're comfortable.
Bring your big toes together and sit back onto your heels.
Taking your chest forwards between your legs.
And reach your arms out towards the front corners of your mat.
Taking the forehead to rest onto the mat.
You can take some support onto your heels to sit back onto if that feels best for you.
And you can support your head with a block.
Or stack your forearms and rest your forehead onto your forearm.
Once you've found your comfortable position,
Relax everything.
And allow your body to surrender into the pose.
If there are any places that are feeling tense or uncomfortable.
Remember that you can breathe into those places.
Send your inhalation into the discomfort.
And feel the exhalation encouraging that area to release.
Sometimes surrendering into a posture and just being here can feel a lot more challenging than moving through a more active dynamic practice.
We can become so used to doing in our lives and striving for results.
That it's difficult for our minds to just let go and allow things to be as they are.
If you do find that your mind wanders away to think about something else.
Or that thoughts come in about what you want to be different,
Or how you can't wait for this posture to end.
Gently acknowledge those thoughts.
And come back to your breath.
Continue to breathe into any discomfort.
And witness the ever-changing sensations in your body.
Slowly walk your hands in to bring yourself back up to kneeling.
Move any support to the side And come to your hands and knees with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
The next posture is thread the needle.
Bring your right arm behind your left arm.
Keeping the arm straight and the palm of your hand facing upwards.
And take your right ear to the mat.
If this feels very challenging for your neck and shoulders,
Support your head by resting your ear onto a block.
Take your left arm out to a diagonal angle.
So your hand goes towards the front corner of the mat.
And relax into the posture.
Feel into the new sensations that come with this different position.
Keep breathing into any discomfort.
And for this last minute.
If you'd like to open the left shoulder a little more.
Take the left hand behind your back.
Either to rest at your lower back.
Or to bring the fingertips towards the right thigh.
Bring the left hand back under the left shoulder.
Unthread the right arm and bring yourself back onto your hands and knees.
We'll do some cat cows here.
So inhale to drop your belly towards the mat.
Lift your head to look up towards the ceiling.
Exhale your chin to your chest and round the back.
Do a few more of these in your own time,
Inhaling forward.
Exhaling to rhyme.
And going to the other side Thread the left hand behind the right arm.
Taking the left ear to the mat.
Or supporting it with a block.
Bring the right arm out to a diagonal angle.
And relax into the posture.
And if you want to open the right shoulder for this last minute.
Bring the right arm behind your back.
Taking the hand to the lower back or to the left thigh.
And slowly unwind.
Bring the right hand back under the right shoulder Untread the left arm and come back onto your hands and knees.
Take some more cat cows here.
Inhaling the chest forward.
Exhaling to arch the back And now make your way down to sitting.
Next we're going to come into dragonfly pose.
Come to sit with the legs open.
Finding an open-legged position where you can feel that something is happening there.
But where you'll be able to stay for a few minutes.
If it feels difficult for you to sit with your spine upright here.
Sit onto a block or a folded blanket for support.
And you might also like to support your legs if the backs of your legs feel very tight.
Or if your knees are lifted.
Take blocks or cushions under your knees so that they can completely relax down.
If you're already feeling some intensity here,
And this is enough for you right now.
You can stay here with your spine straight.
Or otherwise begin to fold forward.
Until you feel that edge.
When the intensity becomes a lot stronger.
Relax into the posture here.
Keep breathing into the discomfort.
This is one of those postures that really teaches us to be in the best place for us.
Some people are going to come very far forward.
Where others will move a centimetre or two.
How you look in the posture or how far forward you fold is completely irrelevant.
It's about what you're feeling on the inside.
And where we need to be is always changing.
Sometimes we get used to being here.
And the intensity decreases.
So we need to move forwards until we can feel something again.
Sometimes it starts to feel too much and we need to come up to a more manageable place.
But as long as we stay sensitive to our bodies.
We can flow with whatever the posture brings us.
And always be in that best place.
For us to receive the benefit.
Slowly walk your hands in to bring your spine back up to straight.
Bring your hands under your legs and take your feet to the mat.
And just rock your knees from side to side here.
Feeling any after effects from that posture.
And next is Butterfly.
So bring the soles of your feet together so that your knees open to the side.
You can support your thighs with blocks or cushions if that feels best for you.
And you're welcome to stay here with your spine straight.
Or otherwise fold forwards over your legs.
Until you reach your edge.
Relax into the posture here.
And for these final two postures,
I'm going to leave you in silence.
To have your experience with your body.
Slowly walk your hands up your legs.
To bring your spine back to straight.
Take your hands to the outsides of your thighs.
Push your knees together and bring your feet back to the mat.
And rock your knees from side to side again.
Just to observe.
And our final posture is caterpillar.
Soon I bring your legs to stray.
Bringing the legs together.
And you can support the knees again here if it feels very tight on the backs of your legs.
You have the option to keep this bind straight here.
Or otherwise fold forward.
Letting your head drop towards your leg.
And relax everything here.
Feel into the new sensations that come up for you in this position.
Walk the hands in alongside your legs to bring your spine back up to straight.
And we'll take a gentle back bend as a counter stretch here.
So bring your hands behind your back.
Turning your hands so that your fingers point back towards your body.
And lift your chest.
Open the front of the body.
Taking the head back,
If that's what feels best for you.
Feel into the whole of the front of your body opening up.
And it's time for your relaxation.
So make your way down to lying on your back.
Taking whatever you need to feel warm and comfortable.
You can come to lying in Shavasana.
With your legs open and your arms a little away from your side.
With the palms of your hands facing upwards.
And you can support your head here with a block or a cushion.
Or take a rolled up blanket under your knees or feet,
If that helps you to feel more comfortable.
And if Shavasana doesn't feel comfortable for your back,
Then take your feet to the mat at hip distance apart.
And let the knees rest together.
Come back to your breath.
And notice how every exhalation gently guides your body into relaxation.
With every exhalation,
Tiny movements happen in the muscles all over your body.
As they release and let go.
With every exhalation your breath slows down a little more.
The heartbeat slows down a little more.
With every exhalation you surrender a little more deeply.
And for these next few minutes.
Nothing is required of you but to be here.
And allow yourself to surrender into relaxation.
Slowly begin to reawaken the body.
Making some movements with the fingers and the toes.
The wrists and the ankles.
And bring your arms over your head for a long stretch down the sides from your hands to your feet.
Bend your knees.
Bring the knees into the chest.
And rock from side to side here.
Feeling the lower back massaging into the mat.
And when you're ready,
Roll over to one side.
And make your way back up to sitting.
Come to sitting with your eyes closed.
And take a moment here to feel into your body.
To observe how your body's feeling after your practice.
Take a moment to notice how you are feeling.
To observe any thoughts or feelings.
Just watch.
And when you're ready.
Slowly blink your eyes open.
To return to your day.
This brings us to the end of the practice.
Thank you for joining me
